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Prime Minister David Cameron's warning to Pakistan that it should stop "export of terror" to India and Afghanistan has adversely affected efforts to raise funds for flood relief, a senior Pakistani diplomat has said. Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon told BBC's Radio 4 that Cameron's comments had allegedly added to Pakistan's suffering amidst unprecedented floods in the country.
The comments on Pakistan by Cameron during his recent visit to India sparked a diplomatic furore between the two countries. The row was sought to be settled during Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's recent visit to the UK, when both leaders said ties between the two countries were 'unbreakable'.
Asked if disputes such as the one sparked by Cameron's comments had caused Pakistan to suffer, Haroon said:"Yes, indeed Pakistan has suffered because of what Mr Cameron has said, because the British people will listen to their prime minister." According to him, a negative perception of Pakistan could be preventing the public from giving more aid.
Haroon said: "The world has been slow. It could be because of donor fatigue in terms of what's happening around the world, but also I don't think the international press, until now, has portrayed what is happening." Warning of a risk that the Taliban could flourish in areas where they had previously been defeated by the Pakistani army, he said: "The Taliban has been flushed out and are now running back to these areas and trying to reinvest themselves into them."
"There is going to be a fight over who helps who at this grievous time, and if the international community does not take this as its responsibility, I'm afraid there will be repercussions much beyond what is happening just now," he told the BBC.